Fashion and colorization?

One of my last posts mentioned that one way to help pick colors for the decade you’re colorizing – take the time to find authentic fashion of the time period. That will help you see first hand the color schemes used back then. I mean we all know some of the more cliche fashion styles like barber shop quartet outfits, but what about others?

These are obviously from the 1860s into the Edwardian era. The vest is a man’s, which means men didn’t always wear just blue, black, gray, and brown. One thing to remember is that even the paintings from that era can’t be trusted because it’s a well known fact that every artist exaggerates when it comes to color. Why lie about color? I can answer that with a hand tinted photograph:

Was her dress yellow, or was it the color the hand painter decided to use? We may never know the answer to that question. Many artists like to take liberties with color, and those who purchase the piece don’t really mind because truth be told, color is enchanting.

Back to the original subject – Fashion and colorization

If you’re colorizing 1920s, look at authentic/vintage jewelry. I know it’s hard to filter through all the costume stuff but once you find original jewelry from the time, really take the time to look at it. Remember, this was the time when Howard Carter found King Tut’s tomb so an Egyptian Revival exploded on the scene

Don’t always let Hollywood tell you how it was, because Hollywood isn’t always right. It wasn’t just about feathers, pearls, and fedoras.

One thing to remember!!!!! Uniform color, and this is not a hard topic to look up at all! When you colorize a soldier or military branch, make sure you use the right color for the uniform you’re colorizing!